Apple has reportedly acquired UK-based digital audio effects maker Camel Audio, which is responsible for the popular Alchemy synth plug-in.

Audio software developer Camel Audio said in January that it would be shutting down and removing its software from sale, but the reason of its closing is.

“We would like to thank you for the support we’ve received over the years in our efforts to create instruments and effects plug-ins and sound libraries. Camel Audio’s plug-ins, Alchemy Mobile IAPs and sound libraries are no longer available for purchase.

We will continue to provide downloads of your previous purchases and email support until July 7, 2015. We recommend you download all of your purchases and back them up so that you can continue to use them (Instructions: How to Download and Backup Your Products).”

This week Camel Audio updated a number of its corporate information, including its address, which is now 100 New Bridge Street, which is Apple’s London address. The company also removed all directors and replaced with just one person: Heather Joy Morrison, a member of Apple’s legal team, suggesting the company is in the possession of Apple.

It wasn’t revealed what Apple intends to do with Camel Audio, but it’s likely the company’s technology could be incorporated into a future version of Logic Pro X, Apple’s software designed for professional musicians, or GarageBand.

BBC Radio 1 has announced that its popular DJ, Zane Lowe, is set to leave the historic British broadcaster in March for a job at Apple.

Zane Lowe has worked as an award-winning Radio 1 DJ for nearly twelve years and has long been regarded as one of the UK’s top sources for music discovery.

He has won a number of awards for his radio show and was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for his role in writing and producing Sam Smith’s album “In The Lonely Hour.”

There’s no news on what position Lowe is taking at the company, but it would make sense he would be involved into the company’s iTunes Radio streaming music service.

Apple has placed a high degree of emphasis on musical curation, especially after purchasing Beats Music and bringing in cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

“We get a subscription music service that we believe is the first subscription service that really got it right,” Apple chief Tim Cook said when discussing the deal. “They had the insight early on to know how important human curation is. That technology by itself wasn’t enough — that it was the marriage of the two that would really be great, and produce a feeling in people that we want to produce.”

iTunes Radio currently has curated stations created by well-known DJs, artists, and other stars. Beats Music features a similar function.

The Cupertino-based company is reportedly planning to rollout a new iTunes subscription service later this year that could be perfect for Lowe’s human curation.

Apple seems to be preparing a significant update to its Maps application for iOS and OS X.

A few cars with what looks likea camera equipment and a LiDAR sensor mounted to the roof, were spotted around California in recent weeks. The California DMV confirmed that the vehicle was leased to the iPhone maker.

It can be a part of Apple’s mapping project, as the cameras on top of the car are similar to other mapping vehicles. The company has been planning on big update for its Maps application, with improvements for transit directions, enhanced points-of-interest data, indoor mapping and more. Apple is probably working on a feature, that is similar to Google Street View or Bing StreetSide.

Along with the cameras, a number of spinning cylindrical devices fitted to the front and rear appear to be LiDAR sensors. This laser-based technology is used to create high-resolution maps, and is also a part of the sensing systems on self-driving cars, including those made by Google.

In addition to LiDAR and cameras, there were two small disc-shaped antennas fitted to the roof and a sensor hanging over the rear wheel, which is likely used to measure movement.

The CBS affiliate reached out to technology analyst Rob Enderle, who said it may be a test model for a self-driving vehicle.

If Apple is truly working on a Street View feature for Maps, it’s possible that users will be provided a new feature in the iOS 9 upgrade that is expected to come later this year. Apple might also include this feature in a later version of iOS.

Apple has update its iTunes on OS X, adding support for a Notification Center widget.

The music management app was refreshed for OS X Yosemite back in October of last year. The update comes titled as iTunes 12.1, and it includes a new media control widget for Notification Center, which is tasked to allow users to control their music and purchase songs from iTunes Radio directly from the system-wide panel.

The widget provides users with back, forward and pause buttons, similar to the buttons on the Lock screen and in Control Center of iOS, as well as track information. Additionally, when playing iTunes Radio, the widget lets you favorite songs.

While the most functions of the new widget are similar to those in iTunes’s MiniPlayer, such MiniPlayer features, like volume adjustment, library search, or track listings are not available in the widget. The widget also does not show cover art.

The 12.1 update is available for both Windows and Mac, and the company notes that in addition to the new widget, it also improves performances when syncing with iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

The widget can be activated following the update by opening Notification Center and clicking the Edit button at the bottom.

According to Apple CEO, the great milestone, which accounts for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, was reached in November and was helped along by a record-breaking 74.5 million iPhones sold in Q1 2015.

Additionally, Cook revealed, that the massive 74.5 million devices sold equates to about 34,000 handsets “every hour, 24 hours a day, every day of the quarter.”

Apple CEO also emphasized that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus demand was stronger than any other iPhone it has ever released. Cook also noted the percentage of customers upgrading from older models was below 14 percent, and in fact only barely cracked the teens.

After the removal of the free iTunes Single of the Week promotion, Apple launched a new “Free on iTunes” section in the iTunes Store, offering free downloads of songs and full length TV episodes.

The “Free on iTunes” section can be found on the homepage and helps users find content without having to spend money.

The new section is a kind of replacement for the company‘s “iTunes Single of the Week”, which previously featured free songs from popular and indie music artists and launched a decade ago, back in 2004. Additionally, the company stopped its 12 Days of Christmas promotion in 2014.

The “Free on iTunes” section includes music from artists like Purity Ring, Machine Head, and Guster, and offers to select episodes of shows from Fox’s Backstrom, Syfy’s 12 Monkey’s, Disney Channel’s KC Undercover, and MTV’s Eye Candy.

The company isn’t offering a large selection of widely known and popular content available for free – it’s more indie content.

Apple’s “Free on iTunes” section is available now, and it is probably that the company will add new content every week as it has done with the iTunes Single of the Week and its App of the Week section. If you’re looking for new iTunes content, the “Free on iTunes” section is worth checking out.

A fresh set of photos, which are claimed to be the lid and display for the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, have been published by Chinese site, iFanr.

Just a few days ago, Apple supplier Quanta Computer has reportedly begun ramping up production of the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air. The company is expected to launch a mid-size version of its notebook computer lineup, and these images seem to provide even further evidence of that being that the case.

If these photos are legitimate, they are the first extensive look at Apple’s much-rumored 12-inch device.

The pictures demonstrate the claimed display and metal shell from the 12-inch product alongside both a 13-inch MacBook Pro and a 9.7-inch iPad. As expected, its display is smaller than the 13-inch model, but appears to be a bit taller than the company’s existing 11-inch MacBook Air.

There is also a couple of differences in the display. The new product doesn’t have a backlit Apple logo on the back of the display assembly as is typically seen on Apple’s notebooks. Instead, you can see a polished metal logo. In addition, the display doesn’t feature the grey bezels current MacBook Air models include, instead demonstrating an apparently all-glass edge-to-edge cover for the display as found on Retina MacBook Pro models.

The 12-inch MacBook Air is expected to feature the same footprint as the 11-inch MacBook Air. The comparison pictures revealed by iFanr show the significantly smaller footprint for the 12-inch machine compared to a 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The next-generation MacBook Air is said to include a high-resolution display along with new Broadwell Core M processors. Other sources believe the 12-inch MacBook Air will come with all the ports typically found on Apple’s line of MacBooks.

According to the most recent rumors, Apple could introduce its 12-inch product by the end of the first quarter, though an exact launch date is still unclear.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent, that shows a spring-loaded pop-up iPhone home button that acts as gaming joystick when in the raised position.

The home button itself would do its usual home button functions, but with a quick pressure click would pop up and turn into a slightly elevated thumb joystick, offering a various way to interact with an iPhone, iPad, or any other device. A simple push of the elevated home button would bring it back to its normal state. When elevated, it’d give 360-degree movement and serve as a D-pad of sorts in games. Thus, users will have access to two modes: “button mode” and “joystick mode.”

According to the documents, the home button will transform into a very low-profile joystick, which is much smaller than traditional game controller joysticks.

The most evident app for this would be for playing games, but the home button could also act to control a cursor or provide more accurate or unique input methods when the appropriate situation appears.

Apple thinks a built-in function in form of this new home button could be an acceptable option for those unable or unwilling to carry additional gaming accessories.

The company believes, the Touch ID home button found on the latest iPhones and iPads can be used for much more than just sensing a user’s fingerprint.

The patent was first filed by the company in the summer of 2013. However, the new technology unlikely will be used in the company’s next iPhone, allegedly launching later this year.

Thunderbolt 2 Dock is a new solution to ramp up the speed of your devices and boost the performance of integrated USB 3.0, HDMI video, and analog audio-out ports.

The Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock has an appealing design and matches well with virtually any device in Apple’s line-up of personal computers. It has a silver aluminum frame with a black plastic core, looking almost similar to the previous model. However, the newer version’s front and rear ports are located in different orders.

Elgato features three USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, a 3.5mm microphone input port, a USB-to-analog 3.5mm audio out port, a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and an HDMI port.

The Dock’s USB 3.0 ports feature standalone 1.5-Amp power output with USB Battery Charging 1.2/UASP standard compliance, which is enough to make sure your iPhone or iPad can charge when connected.

The HDMI port now supports the HDMI 1.4b standard and 4096×2160 resolution output in case you happen to connect your Mac to a 4K monitor.

The USB 3 ports guaranteeenhanced speeds, which means that USB 3.0 hardware will transfer files faster, and the sounds will be a bit more deep and rich. A separate audio input port also makes it possible to simultaneously connect a high-quality microphone for conference calls or any other project that benefits from having your voice heard.

Cook took the top spot in the CNNMoney rankings, saying the CEO did an “amazing job” at Apple in 2014.

“He’s had to convince skeptics that Apple can still innovate after the death of Steve Jobs,” the ranking declared. “He’s proven all the naysayers wrong.”

Also mentioned in the list was the highly successful launches of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as Apple Pay. It also paid attention to the upcoming launch of the Apple Watch in early 2015.

The company said Cook has “arguably the toughest CEO job in America” and noted the company’s 40% stock climb this year.

Tim Cook is followed by other high-profile CEOs, including John Chen of BlackBerry, Mary Barra of GM, and Meg Whitman of HP.

CNN’s CEO of the Year isn’t the only award Cook received this year. Earlier this month, the Financial Times awarded Tim Cook with ‘Person of the Year’ title for the same reasons as CNN—debuts of new products and climbing stock price. Finally, the FT thanked Cook for his personal essay on his sexuality published earlier this year and his decision for Apple to purchase Beats for $3 billion.

Apple CEO was also nominated as a finalist for TIME’s 2014 “Person of the Year” award, but ultimately lost out to the Ebola Fighters.

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